Following the succession of accolades at his Builder’s Arms in Fitzroy, Anthony Hammond has quietly re-opened a Footscray institution, the Victoria Hotel.
The humble “corner pub” on Victoria Street is a step away from the high-profile life at the award-winning and hatted Builder’s Arms Hotel, co-owned by Hammond along with partners Josh Murphy and famed chef Andrew McConnell.
Opening the Victoria Hotel 1 December, the team has set about re-establishing the fading art of the publican, where people know your name and are happy to have a chat.
“The locals have embraced us like no-one’s business,” says Hammond. “It’s just been tremendous. Couldn’t be happier.
“When we recruited our staff, I said to our manager, we don’t need Builder’s Arms staff, what I want is people that will say g’day, get someone a beer when they need it, can converse and are polite. We’re not reinventing the wheel.”
During the five months the Hotel was closed for the renovation, many a local stuck their head in to get a jump on what was to come, to hear “we’re just going to be a pub”.
Some of the crew helped with painting and decorating, giving them hands-on knowledge of the venue, and a soft launch for a few dozen mates the night before doors opened to the public led to an all-night working bee and dash to a supplier to address teething problems that had come to light, in time for the public unveiling.
Located about 500 metres from Bulldog Stadium, the pub will necessarily be a second home for Western Bulldog fans in the footy-loving precinct. A slightly pared-back service model will attempt to keep prices attractive, and a proactive approach to issue management and listening to feedback hopes to keep customer satisfaction high and people coming back for more.
“I like to call it a corner pub, but it’s really not, how busy it is. Still a lot of work involved,” Hammond continued.
“I still like getting involved and having a chin-wag to the punters, because if you talk to them and ask certain questions, they’re a great source of feedback. If you’re willing to ask. You say it in a way where they’re helping, they love it.
“I can see this now being a really good model for how I would do things in the future.”
*Despite several articles proclaiming Hammond is the new owner of Harley & Rose, in the Victoria Hotel in West Footscray, there is no connection and the Footscray publican wishes the proprietors of Harley & Rose the best of luck.
